Standard Operating Procedures

Chadwick Shores Homeowner Association

Standard Operating Procedures 

There are situations wherein the Chadwick Shores HOA Board of Directors needs to take action to address violations of the rules and regulations (i.e., covenants, bylaws, and regulations) that govern our community. These occurrences come to the board’s attention in a variety of ways including  board members, the HOA property management company, property owners and other residents.

The purpose of this document is to outline standard operating procedures (SOP) so that our homeowners will understand how violations are handled.

 These SOPs do not replace or take precedence over the Covenants, By-Laws, and Restrictions and Regulations that have been established for Chadwick Shores, but rather they supplement those documents by providing clarification of the consequences of being found to be in violation of those documents. 

The following SOPs address delinquent association dues payment, property upkeep and maintenance and vehicles parked for an extended period on the HOA rights-of-way. The SOPs describe the process involved in the initial attempts to remedy the violation, and the actions the board will take if no resolution comes of these initial efforts. These SOPs are intended to be fair and equitable to all parties involved but consider the board’s responsibility to enforce community rules and regulations.

Delinquent payment of association dues

Property owners are sent out the annual dues’ payment notices in early January and have until March 31st of that year to remit payment before the imposition of penalties.  Owners who do not pay the assessment by March 31st will begin to incur a late fee of $20 per month until the balance is paid in full. After two consecutive months of overdue non-payment, owners will receive an intent to lien notice. If payment is not received within 30 days of the intent to lien notice being issued, owners will receive one final notice from the HOA attorney prior to the lien being placed on the property. The cost of the lien will be added to the owner’s account balance. Once the balance, which includes late fees and attorney costs, is paid in full, the lien will be removed. 

The HOA board may authorize foreclosure once the delinquent balance reaches $1,200. The cost of any foreclosure proceedings will be added to the owner’s account. The foreclosure will not be canceled until the delinquent amount is paid, along with the legal fee the HOA is billed for processing the foreclosure. This legal fee has historically been the same amount as the outstanding delinquent dues balance at the time the foreclosure is initiated. 

Delinquent owners may propose payment plans or request to appeal to the board as to why the payments were late. These appeals need to be submitted to the board before the lien process is put into action, as the board cannot waive or remove legal fees once applied to an owner’s account. The appeals will be addressed and ruled on by the board in an expeditious manner, with all decisions being final.

 Property maintenance and upkeep

The HOA board is responsible for preserving and promoting property values within Chadwick Shores. To that end, the board, in conjunction with the property management company, conducts routine inspections of the community, which include the identification of properties where yard conditions appear to have been neglected. Conditions that are noted during these inspections usually have to do with overgrown lawns, and debris left in the yard or placed street side in the HOA right-of-way. These inspections are conducted from the road, with neither the board member nor property management representative going on to the property. 

A list is compiled of the properties that are to be issued warning letters which are to be sent to the property owners via regular mail. Prior to the letters being sent, a board member will verify that the conditions have not been remedied since the inspection. The letter gives the owner 30 days from the receipt of the letter to correct the situation.   If the situation is not corrected after 30 days, a second warning letter will be issued, this time giving the owner 15 days to address the issue.  This second letter includes a date for a HOA and homeowner hearing which will be set for the 16th day (the day after the second compliance deadline).   

The owner is asked to attend the hearing to provide their reason(s) why the fines should not be imposed. If the owner chooses not to participate in the hearing, the HOA board will decide on the imposition of the fine, including the amount, and the owner will be notified of that decision via registered mail. Fine amounts have historically been an initial amount of $100, plus $20/day until the violation is corrected. The board in its sole discretion retains the option to deviate from the above schedule of warning notices and fines when it may be warranted due to the nature of the violation. All hearings are considered confidential and will not be shared publicly.

As noted previously, property condition inspections are conducted from the roadway, however the board understands that property yard conditions out of view from the road may be an issue with the neighbors adjoining that property. The board takes the position that the neighbors should try and resolve any differences they have regarding backyard conditions amongst themselves. The property management company may be able to offer owners insight as to what may be considered a violation based on evidence submitted by the owner, and/or offer suggestions for neighbors to resolve disputes. The HOA will not get involved in neighbor-to-neighbor property disputes unless it concerns a specific violation of the current community documents as written.   

Illegal parking on the HOA rights-of-way

There is no parking of vehicles at any time on the Chadwick Shores HOA rights-of-way.  Vehicles in the rights-of-way are not only a safety concern for drivers, pedestrians, and school buses, but they prevent our landscaping company from mowing the rights-of-way.  Signs are posted throughout the neighborhood to this fact and advise that towing of offending vehicles will be enforced. The board recognizes that there will be instances where vehicles will be parked on the rights-of-way because there is not enough room in the driveway of a property to accommodate all the vehicles attending an event at that property such as a birthday, 4th of July celebration, a real estate open house, or a group viewing of a televised sporting event. Therefore, this SOP is intended to address long term parking of vehicles on the rights-of-way, and/or habitual parking by residents. 

If a vehicle has been identified as having been parked on a right-of-way, the owner of the property in front of which the vehicle has been parked, will be sent a letter from the management company asking them to confirm that they own the vehicle, or know who does. The owner will be asked to contact the management company with this information. If the owner does own the vehicle, or knows who does, they will have 15 days to move it off HOA property.  If the vehicle has not been removed within 15 days, a warning notice will be placed on the windshield identifying the day the vehicle will be towed away ( no later than 7 days after placing the warning notice), where it will be towed, and how to recover the vehicle, with all costs to be incurred by the vehicle’s owner. The HOA has no liability for any damage done to the vehicle because of it being towed, or during the time the vehicle is kept in a stowage yard until it’s retrieved.

If the property owner does not own the vehicle, or does not know who does, the windshield warning notice will be placed immediately on the vehicle, giving the owner 15 days to remove it before it is towed by the HOA.   In the case of commercial vehicles parked for an extended time on the rights-of-way, if there is company information of the vehicle, the property management company will attempt to contact the company and ask them to remove it, before it is subject to being towed. The board in its sole discretion retains the option to deviate from the above schedule of warning notices on a case-by-case basis when a vehicle is deemed a hazard, nuisance, or the area of right of way must be accessed. 

See also: Complaint Resolution Process

Adopted February 15, 2022